Acclaimed NY public realm strategist to lead I-80 Corridor session March 11 at Mahoney State Park

LINCOLN, NEB. (March 3, 2006)-Alexander Garvin, who has carved out an illustrious career in urban planning and real estate with teaching, architecture and public service, will lead a special visioning session, March 11, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., for the Nebraska Innovation Zone Commission (NIZC), at Mahoney State Park. The presentation is open to the public.

Garvin, president and CEO of Alex Garvin & Associates, Inc., embraces the philosophy that planning is not simply making a plan, but rather the art of creating change for a city that requires coordinating the interests of elected and appointed public officials, private developers, architects, community residents, and business interests to change a city for the better.

"I can't say how pleased I am that Alex is making time to help the NIZC plan what could become groundbreaking changes within the corridor for years to come," said Marty Shukert, principal/partner in RDG Planning & Design. "I've worked with him in the past and am honored to know that he has promoted the success of Omaha's downtown development project during classes he has taught at Yale University."

He will arrive in Omaha on March 8 so he can prepare for his Saturday session by researching the I-80 corridor and visiting communities throughout the area. While in Nebraska, he also will attend a class in Architecture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Information from his visioning session will subsequently be presented at future NIZC meetings.

From 1996-2005, he was managing director of planning for NYC2012, New York City's committee for the 2012 Olympic bid. During 2002-2003, he was vice president for planning, design and development at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the agency charged with redeveloping the World Trade Center following 9/11. During the past 35 years, he has served as deputy commissioner of housing (1974-1978) and city planning commissioner (1995-2004) among other high level positions within five New York City administrations.

Garvin, author of The American City: What Works, What Doesn't, and other works, has shared his expertise with U.S. audiences from coast to coast and throughout the world including Salzburg, Austria, Beijing, China, and Geneva, Switzerland. He is an adjunct professor of Urban Planning and Management at Yale University where he has taught a wide range of courses for more than 38 years.